On Tuesday, the Raptors worked out Louisville guard Russ Smith, Arizona guard Nick Johnson, Missouri guard Jordan Clarkson, Buffalo forward Javon McCrea and Gonzaga forward San Dower. Afterward, Raptors director of scouting Dan Tolzman, who Masai Ujiri hired shortly after he took over as general manager last year, spoke with the media on those players and the entire draft, which he has been scouting all year long.

On impressions of the draft as a whole:
“It’s great. It’s extremely talented this year. I think … it’s a very good draft to have three [picks]. We’re kind of all across the board, too, at 20, 37 and 59. There is going to be a player on the board at all of those picks.”

On a position of strength in the draft:
“Not so much. In the first round there are a lot of wings out there. They’re talented across the board. It might be heavier one way or the other, but there’s a lot out there at the front part of the draft or toward the end.”

On Tuesday’s draft workout:
“Everyone played well. It was really competitive. We brought in a handful of point guards that we’re kind of considering at both 20 and 37. We kind of just brought them all in. We got a look at them, and they played well. Russ is as fast as they get. He showed that today. Unfortunately Jahii Carson got hurt yesterday at another workout. He’s another extremely fast player. Jordan Clarkson played extremely well. Nick Johnson played well, too. He showed his athleticism and shot the ball well.”

On importance of getting to know the people beyond the players:
“That’s one of the biggest parts of bringing these guys in, to see them in person, to get to know them, who they are as kids. It’s not like we’re doing one-on-one actual interviews with them. But just sitting around with them, talking with them and getting them in their relaxed environment, just seeing what kind of people are, it’s a huge part. You want to see how are these guys going to fit with the chemistry of our team. I think that was one of the biggest positives of our team, the chemistry. One of the last things we’d ever want to do is mess that up.”

On looking for a more experienced player, given they are a playoff team:
“Yes and no. I think it’s kind of a two-edged sword there. If you get a guy who has got the experience, he can come in and contribute, and you could expect him to come in and contribute. But on a playoff team, there might not be room for him to come in and contribute. So with a playoff team, you almost have the luxury of maybe bringing in a guy you can develop in the background at the end of the bench and just work with them while you’ve got the playoff team going. With us, we just want to bring in the most talented players that we can. It doesn’t really matter if they’re a senior coming our or a freshman coming out. If it’s a guy who we see as a contributor in the next few weeks, that’s what we’re looking for. You can get in trouble if you start picking players based on the situation you have right now because everything can change quickly.”

On trading up in the draft:
“You’ve got to be realistic. It’s hard to move up in the draft. Every year, everyone complains about the draft all year long. And then when the draft comes around, everyone loves their draft pick and never want to trade it, because they fall in love with somebody.”

On whether his opinions change during draft workouts:
“We might have a list of, say, 10 guys or whatever. The order of that, we don’t know what that is. They’re all kind of bunched together. If they can come in and compete in workouts, and hopefully go up against one another if we can set that up, that’s where the jockeying for the position within that list happens. Workouts, they’re important. But we’ve seen these guys so many times. Seeing them in live action is the key anyway.”